4.  The applicant lives in Feldkirch-Tosters (Austria).
5.  In February 1996 the Feldkirch District Administrative Authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) instituted administrative criminal proceedings against the applicant under the Aliens’ Employment Act (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz). He was suspected of having illegally employed a foreigner (Ö.) without the required permit to work.
6.  On an unspecified date the District Administrative Authority invited the applicant to comment on the charge against him (Aufforderung zur Stellungnahme). On an unspecified date the applicant filed his comments.
7.  On 3 July 1996 the District Authority issued a penal order and imposed a fine of ATS 25,000 (EUR 1,816.82). It found that the applicant had illegally employed a foreigner.
8.  On 6 August 1996 the applicant, assisted by counsel, filed an appeal. On 12 August 1996 the applicant amended his appeal. He submitted that the Regional Vorarlberg Labour Office’s (Landesarbeitsamt) decision of 21 September 1994, by which it refused to grant a work permit for Ö, did not fulfil the formal requirements of a decision (Bescheid) and was therefore null and void. Thus, Ö.’s preliminary work permit was still valid and, consequently, the penal order had no legal basis.
9.  On 4 November 1998 the Independent Administrative Panel (Unabhängiger Verwaltunssenat, “the IAP”) submitted that the applicant had filed his appeal out of time and ordered the applicant to comment on this submission within two weeks.
10.  The applicant complied with this order on 19 November 1998. He submitted that the District Administrative Authorities’ decision of 3 July 1996 was only served on him on 23 July 1996 due to his absence at the material time and that therefore the appeal was lodged in time.
11.  On 23 November 1998 the IAP ordered the applicant to prove his absence at the material time within two weeks. On 9 December 1998 the applicant complied with this order.
12.  By a decision of 15 December 1998 the IAP partly allowed the applicant’s appeal and decreased the fine to ATS 20,000 (EUR 1,453.44) and ordered him to pay ATS 2,000 (EUR 145.35) as his contribution to the procedural costs at first instance. It found that Ö.’s preliminary work permit had expired on 24 October 1994 and that therefore the offence of illegal employment of a foreigner was met. The IAP further held that the applicant could not enjoy impunity for having committed an error of law, as he should have been aware that the District Administrative Authority would consider the employment illegal when the Labour Office’s refusal to grant a work permit for Ö. was served.
13.  On 1 March 1999 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof). He submitted that the IAP was no “tribunal” within the meaning of Article 6 of the Convention as its member acted as both judge and prosecutor. Further, he submitted that his rights under Article 6 § 2 of the Convention were violated. He relied on a precedent in which the administrative authorities had considered a decision with a similar deficiency as invalid and, thus, he considered Ö.’s preliminary work permit still valid. However, pursuant to the applicable law he had to show that no fault lay with him for the contravention of the provisions of administrative law.
14.  On 14 June 1999 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the complaint for lack of prospects of success and transmitted the complaint to the Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof). The case file arrived at the latter court on 1 September 1999.
15.  On 27 October 1999 the applicant amended his complaint with the Administrative Court and on 30 November 1999 the IAP submitted its observations.
16.  On 16 October 2001 the Administrative Court dismissed the complaint. It referred to a previous decision in a similar case of the applicant in which it had to consider the employment of Ö. concerning another period of time. It found, that the Labour Office’s decision refusing to grant a work permit was beyond doubt valid and, thus, there existed no work permit for the foreigner for the material time. Therefore, the applicant should have been aware that he violated the prohibition to employ foreigners without work permit. Thus, the IAP’s penal order was lawful. Referring to its constant case law, the Administrative Court found that there was no doubt about the IAP’s qualification as a tribunal within the meaning of Article 6 of the Convention. This decision was served on 12 November 2001.